1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for regeneration, temperature loading, and/or thermal management of an exhaust system-associated component of an internal combustion engine, an injection valve for use in such a device, and a method for regeneration, temperature loading, and/or thermal management of an exhaust system-associated component.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to install a particulate filter in an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine of a vehicle. If the internal combustion engine is a diesel engine, for example, then the particulate filter functions as a soot filter, for example, and its filtering action reduces the output of fine particulate matter. In order to prevent the filter from becoming clogged after a certain amount of use, it is necessary to regenerate the filter from time to time. The regeneration is produced by increasing the temperature, for example to approximately 600° Celsius, which triggers combustion of the particulate matter, especially soot particles. Since it is not possible in all operating states to achieve this through steps taken with the engine, the temperature increase is produced by means of fuel, for example diesel, which is injected into the exhaust line via an injection valve.
The injected fuel travels to an oxidizing converter that is situated upstream of the particulate filter. The fuel traveling into the oxidizing converter is oxidized and burned. thus increasing the exhaust temperature so that correspondingly hot exhaust travels into the downstream particulate filter and causes the regeneration to occur in it.
Conventional multiport and single-port injection valves can be used to meter fuel into the exhaust. However, these have the disadvantage that the ports become clogged or coked with residues of soot contained in the exhaust under the existing operating conditions. As a result, the metering quantity decreases over the operating duration; under some circumstances, this results in the fact that the injected quantity is no longer sufficient for the regeneration of the particulate filter or in the worst-case scenario, can no longer be metered at all.
It is also possible to use an injection valve that operates as a function of the pressure of the supplied fuel, i.e. if the pressure of the supplied fuel exceeds a certain predetermined value, then the injection valve opens and injects a fuel quantity into the exhaust system. This reduces the pressure in the supply system so that the injection valve closes again. Then, the pressure increases again so that the injection valve opens again and fuel is injected into the exhaust system. As a result, the injection valve opens and closes rhythmically, which results in a so-called chattering operation. Such a chattering operation is known from the “Bosch Automotive Handbook, 6th Edition,” Robert Bosch GmbH, 2004, ISBN 0-8376-1243-8, page 645. In addition, the occurrence of a chattering operation in a device for exhaust treatment of an internal combustion engine is described in the German patent application DE 102005034704. Since the supply of fuel to the injection valve is not produced with a constant pressure due to the involved components, but is instead accompanied by pressure fluctuations and possibly also short-term pressure peaks, a stoppage of the chattering operation may occur.